1.1.The village at a glance

Deir_Mimas Village

Location

Deir Mimas (دير ميماس) is a town 88 km south of Beirut located at the south of Lebanon. It was named in the honour of Saint Mamas, the town overlooks the Litani River and the medieval castle of Beaufort to the west, and the snow-capped peaks of Mount Hermon to the east, Deir Mimas is a beautiful village in CAZA Marjeyoun, lost in olive groves the CAZA MARJEYOUN itself is 550m above sea level.

According to E. H. Palmer the name means: "the convent of Mimâs"

Deir is derivative from the Semitic, meaning house or convent. Mimas refers to Saint Mamas, the third century shepherd who preached Christianity and had a lion as a protector. Saint Mamas became

martyr after his examination in the persecutions of Aurelian in the Middle Ages, a convent was built in honor of Saint Mamas on top of a hill surrounded by olive groves. A village grew around the convent, and it was eventually named in his honour.

This village set on a headland, where the old stone stands alongside the trees, refers to Saint Mama, a shepherd of the 3rd century, martyr of Christianity. In 1404, a monastery was built in his honor, on a hill surrounded by olive trees.

Later, a village was established around the convent and was called Deir Mimas.

Deir Mimas enchant it's visitor with two spring water there and the village is a really typical old village from ancient times by all means.

Most of the houses there were old covered with red bricks built at top like those commonly used in most of our Lebanese villages as at that time this was a commonly prevailing building style.

On the other end ,one can find few newly built buildings or villas which were built recently adopting the new modern building styles but most of the inhabitants still maintained and preserved their old styled cultural and traditional houses.

The best time to move around at night between 5:00pm and 8:00 pm among houses and inhabitants moving around the narrowly built roads that were made especially for walking or moving goods with their donkeys which can be seen clearly accidentally at times while everyone is walking around.

At the same time ,one can walk around all the village in thirty or fourty minutes without any hindrance which is considered a good exercise for losing weight whilst enjoying the beauty of nature and the lovely scenery which reminds every visitor of the olden days of his ancestors'

In addition to the cultivation of grapes, and figs, cactus ; plenty corn was planted at many neighboring houses and with nearby farmers.

Deir Mimas continues to be a major producer of olives and olive oil.

It is rather a home to around 130,000 - 150,000 olives trees some of which date back hundreds of years.

Three olive oil press facilities are available providing their services to many olive farmers from Deir Mimas and surrounding villages.

Olive oil produced in Deir Mimas is known to be as one of the best in Lebanon.

The village is a typically old with relatively cold weather cold in winter and relatively cool in summer during the visit one can rarely feels hot.

In the village they have one butcher who usually opens twice a week only in case of your extra consumption one needs to go to a neighboring village Kaferkilla they have a regular Abundant supply there.

For a very nutritious breakfast one can buy early mourning Zatarwzeit pizza and a dry goat Labneh which is sold in kilos and that can last even without fridge is a creamy cheese like that will be eaten for breakfast and supper with hot or warmly baked Sajj bread or Zatarwzeit pizza will always be eaten with green olive fruit for this is rather a very basic must with every meal which one can get from his crops or neighboring farmers.

Also ,fresh eggs can be bought and is available once needed that can be fried with olive oil in a clay like pot at times as it was used to be in ancient days.

Also ,one can buy fresh figs at times or a very ripe fresh cactus one can eat them after breakfast or as a breakfast itself.

Anybody who likes calm and quite farming old village life finds Deir Mimas with its lovely weather and its old fashioned way of living a paradise on earth.

There were two Churches there for the masses at Sunday one can go to a nearby church there; the atmosphere is lovely the priest Hanna always have fruitful spiritual sermon which can bring life into one's lost soul by merely listening and participating with the chants and hymns of the band one can feel so great thereby regaining his well being.

At launch, after getting your desired meat from the village's butcher nearby or alternatively one can buy the desired amounts elsewhere.

Also one can grab vegetables either from nearby farmers or one can go to neighboring villages for immense huge shopping of the needed commodities from their supermarkets which are even relatively cheaper than Beirut.